Hi everyone.
My daughter (age 4) has had a chronic congestion problem since she was about 18 months old and I was told over and over that she would grow out of it. She hasn't and I finally took her to an ENT specialist. Long story short, her adenoids are enlarged and the tonsils are borderline enlarged. They don't want to remove the tonsils unless necessary so we've been scheduled to have my daughter observed in a sleep study. If she has apnea, they will remove the tonsils and adenoids together and if she doesn't they will just remove the adenoids.
Anyway, I am wondering if anyone else has had a sleep study done on their young child? What should I expect and what should I do to prepare her? I'm nervous about the process ( and trying not to show it ) because I'm not sure how she'll react....I'm really worried she'll freak out over all the wires.
I will be staying overnight with her.
Thanks for any insight you can give me!
Everything went better than expected and although we were up a few times that night and woke super early the next morning we made it through. Now we're just waiting for the results. Thanks everyone. :-)
2nd update: Our doctor called with the results after only 1 day....my daughter does have "mild" sleep apnea that is keeping her from achieving a really deep sleep and she also has "above average" limb movement which may be contributing to her difficulty to stay asleep. Hence the tiredness/crankiness during the day..... Blah.
Looks like we'll probably be taking adenoids and tonsils out soon.
Yes, my son had a sleep study when he was 13. No big deal, just a bunch of wires all over them, and having to sleep in an unfamiliar bed. It's an uncomfortable night, but nothing she should be frightened of. Just tell her you will buy her a treat when it's all over, and ask her what she wants the treat to be.
Hi R.-
My daughter has had several sleep studies...I cannot say that 'either' of us got much sleep (at least 'I' didn't...lol) but the 'techs' were all tremendously helpful...and evidently were able to capture the data needed for my daughter.
I explained to my daughter each time what would happen. I explained the wires...etc. I had her 'nite time' music and books...and her snugglies as well.
Explain what you can...but be prepared for a nap for YOURSELF the next day!!
Best luck!
michele/cat
wow! my husband was that way and he had them removed also. make sure the dr can handle children. explain to her that there will be colorful wires on her to help capture her dreams. also explain to her that they may need to put a special mask on her to help her breathe (dream) better. shes old enough to understand a little bit
We haven't had a sleep study, but we have had our older daughter undergo two EEG tests (done sleeping). Best thing is to arrive with your daughter *wiped out*. In our case, the tests were done in the early afternoon. We kept her up very late and then also got her up a couple hours early.
Bring some sort of lovey or special pillow. If she has music that she listens to at bedtime, bring it. In other words, make it as close to being at home as possible.
Best wishes,
S. :+)
There are a LOT of wires, and in all rainbow colors.
My son called his "his robot suit".
My son was NOT pleased about having to stay overnight. 6mo of in and out of the hospital (weeks on end inpatient, home for a few days, and right back again)... he'd reached his limit. He felt fine, he did NOT want to stay.
We have about an hours worth of cussing like a sailor in full stereo audio.
He did fine getting hooked up, playing some video games/tv time, but he was just "done" and not having it when it came time for lights out. But he didn't rip the wires off, and we did stay the night, and he was perfectly fine in the morning.
I forgot my pillow, though!
We had ours done through Childrens, so the whole place was set up just like a standard single (inpatient room). Bed for the kiddo, bed for a single parent, tv w/ gaming system (bring your own movies, or they had some to choose from), bathroom with shower, free wifi, reading lamp... all that jazz. Really, like a hotel room with med equipment.
If he hadn't been sick of hospitals, I think he would have had a really fun time.
My daughter had one as a baby. I went with her and stayed in the room with her overnight at the hospital sleep clinic (set up like a hotel room with some extra medical gear). They attach a bunch of wires to her head and I think a breathing mask and they video tape. The nurses/technicians answered all my questions so I imagine they can explain to your daughter if she had questions. It was not too bad with a baby. The worst part was washing all the gunk that holds the wires off her head and even that wasn't too bad (3 shampoos in the bath). I didn't get much sleep so I was tired the next day (the study ended at 7 am) but maybe you can find someone to give you a break the next day.
My son had one done a few months back, he's 5. I told him we were going "camping" and he would have to have some wires and stuff on him. He did well, he took it alot better then I thought.
My friend's daughter was going to go thru a sleep study, then my friend decided to get other opinions about her daughter - she snored horribly loud and was always congested at night. The first ENT who claimed that her adenoids/tonsils were the size of a 10yo (she was 2yo). The two other specialists disagreed. So, I would recommend getting other opinions. Good luck!
